Augsburg leave it late

Raul Bobadilla scored late to keep Augsburg's European hopes alive after a 1-0 win at Braunschweig.

Last Updated: 03/05/14 5:43pm

Raul Bobadilla scored deep into stoppage time to keep Augsburg's hopes alive of qualifying for Europe next season with a 1-0 win, while leaving Eintracht Braunschweig at the foot of the table.

The Argentinian came off the bench 10 minutes from the end of a tense encounter to score the decisive goal with practically the last kick of the game.

With Hamburg and Nurnberg also losing on the penultimate weekend of the season, bottom-placed Braunschweig do still have the chance of avoiding automatic relegation on the final day, although to do that they will need to reverse a four-game losing streak at Hoffenheim.

Augsburg host Eintracht Frankfurt next Saturday with only a point between them and seventh-placed Mainz, who occupy the Bundesliga's last berth in the Europa League next season.

Braunschweig made a bright start with the Eintracht Stadion united behind their team, urging them on from the get-go.

Dominik Kumbela went close with a diving header, but Augsburg crafted some even better chances, despite playing a waiting game.

Sascha Molders was denied by Daniel Davari with a string of long-range efforts all warning the hosts that Augsburg were not in a charitable mood.

Braunschweig appeared to have invested too much in the game in the first half as they slowly tired in the second 45 minutes as Augsburg gained the upper hand.

Nevertheless, it was Torsten Lieberknecht's men who had the chance to snatch victory in the last minute of regular time when substitute Salim Khelifi, just a minute after being brought on, was denied by an excellent reaction save from Marwin Hitz.

The home fans' disappointment at seeing that chance go begging was amplified in stoppage time when Andre Hahn's backheeled pass set up Bobadilla to lift the ball over Davari and snatch a last-gasp win for Augsburg.